1. Australia's Drive in Culture

    Drive-ins, once popular across Australia, provided a more family-friendly form of entertainment than the traditional theatre offered. 

    Historical Subject | By Gabrielle Sexton, History Trust of South Australia

  2. Australian Rules Football

    The structure of local Aussie Rules football competitions has changed over time, just as the game itself has continued to evolve

    Historical Subject | By Bernard Whimpress | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  3. Austrians in South Australia

    The first Austrians to arrive in South Australia were two Jesuit priests, Fathers Aloysius Kranewitter and Maximilian Klinkowstroem on December 8, 1848. 

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  4. Ayers House

    Acquired and extended on the back of copper mining from the mid 1840s, Ayers House has had three main occupancies since the early twentieth century

    Historical Place | By Peter Bell | North Terrace | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  5. Bangladeshis in South Australia

    The first Bengali immigrants came to South Australia to escape the 1971 civil war between West and East Pakistan.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | 1970s, late twentieth century

  6. Barr Smith Family

    Robert Barr Smith (1824–1915), the son of a Scottish clergyman and his wife Marjory, née Barr, migrated to Melbourne in 1854. Moving to Adelaide just as Thomas Elder’s brothers were leaving South Australia, he threw in his lot with Elder.

    Historical Subject | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  7. Beaches

    With their carnivals and regattas, bathing-beauty competitions, amusements, sea and sand, beaches were one of the key gathering places for South Australians from the 1870s to the 1950s. 

    Historical Subject | By Marie Boland | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

  8. Belarusians in South Australia

    The first significant wave of Belarusians arrived in South Australia as Displaced Persons (DPs) when Belarus anti-communist fighters, members of Belarusian Youth Union, military Belarusian (anti-Russian) units, pro-German Belarusian government organizations and others were in conflict with the Soviet Red Army.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | 1940s, mid twentieth century

  9. Belgians in South Australia

    The first known Belgians arrived in South Australia after the Second World War as Displaced Persons (DPs) from refugee camps in Europe. 

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | 1960s, late twentieth century

  10. Babbage, Benjamin

    Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815–1878), an English engineer who superintended construction of the first Port Adelaide railway line, was employed by the South Australian Government in 1851 to search for gold. He led two official expeditions (1856 and 1858) that found no gold but surveyed the Flinders Ranges and Far North and established the extent of Lakes Eyre and Torrens.

    Historical Person | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  11. Bicycles

    From 'boneshakers' to penny-farthings to mountain bikes, bicycles have certainly changed since the 1860s.

    Historical Subject | By Dieuwke Jessop | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  12. Bonython Family

    Bonython Family is distinguished by a capacity for hard work, a leaning towards public service and significant benefaction to the institutions and people of Adelaide.

    Historical Subject | By Carol Fort & Wilfred Prest | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  13. Brazilians in South Australia

    Brazilians began arriving in Australia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

  14. Building Materials

    Diverse materials have been used for building houses, structures and other constructions in South Australia with distinctive local stone giving some districts their own identity

    Historical Subject | By Peter Bell

  15. Bulgarians in South Australia

    The first organised group of Bulgarian immigrants arrived in South Australia in November 1907. 

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

  16. Cambodians in South Australia

    Between 1975 and 1979 thousands of Cambodians fled to neighbouring Thailand to seek refuge from Pol Pot’s regime. These numbers increased in 1979 following invasion by Vietnamese forces.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

  17. Canadians in South Australia

    The first significant group of Canadians arrived in Australia after the 1837 rebellions in Canada and approximately 150 Canadians were transported to Australia as convicts, however, almost all of these men returned to Canada after serving their sentences.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

  18. Central Market

    The Central Market is a distinctively Adelaide institution, renowned for fine food and produce and a bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere

    Historical Place | By Peter Bell | Central Market | 1860s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  19. Childhood

    The history of childhood in South Australia has been characterised by the assimilation policies practised by the state and the Christian churches throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and also changes in infant mortality, and the introduction of compulsory schooling. 

    Historical Subject | By Ian Davey | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century

  20. Chileans in South Australia

    From 1853 until 1857 Chilean muleteers were employed by the English and Australian Copper Company to transport copper ore and coal between Burra and Port Wakefield.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

  21. Chinese in South Australia

    The first Chinese settler to arrive in South Australia is believed to be Tim Sang. Mr Sang arrived sometime between 1836 and 1840.

    Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

  22. Dennis, Mr. Clarence

    Dennis was a poet, journalist and satirist, renowned for The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, the bestselling book of Australian poetry.

    Historical Person | By Valmai Hankel | North Terrace, Southeast corner | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century

  23. Climate

    Climate was and still is an important factor in how and where South Australia first settled. 

    Historical Subject | By Peter Schwerdtfeger | 1800-1810, 1830s

  24. Closer Settlement

    Settlers believed that using land intensively maximised its value and civilised its occupants, and that holdings should be small to allow people to hold land

    Historical Subject | By Bill Gammage | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  25. Colonial Laws Validity Act

    The powers of colonial legislatures to create courts, alter local constitutions and authenticate laws were confirmed by the British statute.

    Historical Subject | By Peter Moore | 1860s, 1930s

  26. Conscription

    Universal military training, including ‘boy conscription’ for those as young as 12, was introduced via the Commonwealth Defence Act in 1911.

    Historical Subject | By Jenny Tilby Stock | early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  27. Coopers Brewery

    Coopers Brewery has survived where many others have failed; it is now the only Australian-owned major brewing company.

    Historical Organisation | By Alison Painter | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  28. Copper Industry

    Copper brought unexpected wealth to the new colony and was an economic mainstay for 70 years, with a resurgence since the 1980s at Olympic Dam

    Historical Subject | By Peter Bell | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century

  29. Cornish

    South Australian mineral discoveries of the 1840s (especially at Kapunda and Burra in the Mid North) and extension of the farming frontier, were a magnet to the Cornish.

    Historical Subject | By Mel Davies | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

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